


Green Grass and High Tides

by GreenFish



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF, Figure Skating RPF, Olympics RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Meryl & Charlie - Freeform, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-09
Updated: 2014-05-09
Packaged: 2018-01-24 03:32:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1590134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenFish/pseuds/GreenFish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is named after the most impossible song that has ever existed on Rock Band, a game I used to play faithfully every time we would invite people over.  This is a tale about four friends spending an afternoon together at a starter home in Ann Arbor, Michigan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green Grass and High Tides

**Author's Note:**

> I actually came up with this idea as I was slaving over my own suburban jungle of a lawn. This is 100% fiction. Comments are appreciated. Thank you!

**===**

Ann Arbor, MI  - 8/9/2014

===

 

The lawnmower stood parked in the front of their garage door, the light reflecting off its shiny metal finish, _mocking him_.  He sighed, pulling a white t-shirt over his head as he stepped off the front porch.  Tanith sat on the front step, her legs crossed, daintily sipping on a lemonade, which he was pretty sure she’d spiked with the Tito’s vodka she pretended to hide in the freezer. 

“What are you waiting for?” she grinned, leaning back on her elbows to gaze up at him.  

He made what he knew was a theatrical frown.  “Nothing, it’s just …”  He trailed off, staring at the mower, candy-apple red, its silver _Craftsman_ logo gleaming in the sun.  He could feel the back of his neck burning already.   

“Hold _on_ ,” she said, standing up.  She slid over to him, tucking her finger under his chin.  Her grin grew even wider as she turned his face to look at her.  “You’ve never mowed a lawn before?”

Charlie coughed in response.  “Well.  I mean -- you know, my parents’ lawn is so big, and just we had guys, that, uh...”  He sputtered along for a few seconds before losing steam, watching her burst out laughing at him.  “ _What_?” he asked finally, unable to keep a rueful smile from hitting the corners of his mouth.

Tanith shook her head, setting the drink glass down on the front step.  “You are _such_ a prima donna,” she smirked, sidling over to his side.  “My parents’ lawn is _so big_ ,’” she imitated in a mocking voice, making a face at him.

He stuck his tongue out at her.  “Whatever,” he shot back at her, lamely.  

His upbringing was a running joke between them.  Charlie had grown up, to put it diplomatically, _well-off._  His father owned his own company, and growing up, they had never struggled.  Charlie had attended a private school, whereas Tanith had grown up with only her mother, who moved them to the U.S. at a young age, struggling to keep their family afloat.  Tanith had gone to public school, and was used to working hard to get everything she had in her life.  When she became annoyed with him, she’d call him a ‘spoiled brat,’ even though he knew she didn’t _really_ mean it.

He wasn’t spoiled, _exactly_.  He had always worked hard at everything in his life as well, whether it was school, or skating, or hockey, or love …

But, OK,   _fine_.  It was true, he hadn’t ever used a lawnmower.   _So what?_

 

===

 

He had tried to get around the whole debacle initially by suggesting that they just hire someone to mow the lawn, since they were both still fairly busy, and who knew if they’d have time to do it every week?  

Tanith insisted on buying a lawnmower of their own, saying it just wasn’t financially responsible to _pay_ someone to do it  for you when you could buy your own mower for less than the cost of a summer’s work.   _It will last us for years,_ she insisted.  

Charlie wasn’t so sure.  He felt it was worth the extra cost to not have to worry about it, but Tanith had persisted.  “It’s our _first home_ ,” she had said.  “This, Charlie, is what my mom used to call a ‘character builder.’”

“So that means it’s going to suck,” Charlie had barked with laughter.

“This is a right of passage,” she had insisted, as they left Sears with the lawnmower tucked in the back of his SUV.

 

===

 

He stared in trepidation at the machine.  Charlie knew, _in theory,_ how they worked.  There was the pull cord, and then you just pushed it around.  It seemed simple enough.  He had to admit that it was pretty silly that he had lived over twenty-six years without ever mowing a lawn on his own.

“You’d better hurry up,” Tanith called over to him.  “I just got a text from Meryl that they’re on their way!”

Charlie sighed loudly.  Yes, the last thing he wanted was to be in the middle of mowing when Meryl showed up with beefy _Maskim Chmerkovskiy_ , who’d probably spent half his teenage life mowing lawns to earn money for his family, all the while training in his dancing and being an all-around hardbody.  

It wasn’t Charlie’s fault his parents had never made him mow.  The fact of the matter was that his parents lived on a lot with over an acre of land.  He couldn’t think of a time _either_ of his parents had done any type of lawn work.  They were always working in the office, or, in the case of his mom, shuttling him back and forth to school, orchestra and the rink for skating and hockey as well.  Even if they’d wanted to, he wasn’t sure they would have had _time_ to do it.  

“I got this,” he responded, jutting his chin out.  He studied the machine for a second, locating the pull cord.   _OK_ , he thought, and pulled on the cord.  Nothing happened.  He pulled it harder that time, but still nothing.  

He didn’t want to look back at Tanith, because he could hear the laughter bubbling up in her throat.  He heard her hand slapping the concrete step in amusement.   _Damn it._  

“Don’t offer to help, or anything,” he called out to her, frowning deeply.  

It was, frankly, a little embarrassing.  Here they were, in their first home that they _owned_ together, and he couldn’t even do something as simple as starting a lawnmower.  What was going to happen if something actually went wrong -- like a burst pipe?  Or a roof leak?  He didn’t want to think about that right then, focused on the task at hand.  

They didn’t have a large yard, so it wasn’t going to take long once he got started.  He just needed to _get_ to that point.  He was eyeing the rip cord when Tanith sauntered over, her face full of amusement.  

“OK,” she said, trying not to laugh.

“Seriously, will you stop that?  You’re ruining my masculinity.”  

“You lost it _years_ ago when you agreed to take up ice dancing,” Tanith winked.  

It was another inside joke between them, both having history as ice dancers.  People often asked if he’d been given a hard time from other guys for being an ice dancer. _It took a lot more strength and training than a lot of sports that were considered traditionally masculine, so no_ , he would say.  But Tanith found it funny to joke with him about it, and he couldn’t not laugh.  Especially coming from her.

“OK, Tan.  Go ahead.  Tell me what I’m doing wrong, then.”

“Well, first of all -- do you have gas?  I haven’t seen you touch this thing since we took it out of the car yesterday.  I’m guessing it probably needs gas.”  

“Oh,” Charlie said, embarrassed.  That made sense.  He opened up the gas cap and saw that the tank was indeed, empty.  They didn’t have anything at the house, so he had to make a run to a nearby gas station to get a gas can and fuel.  By the time he came back, Tanith had already refilled her glass and set out four chairs on the front patio.  

He rolled his eyes at her as he pulled the can out of the car.  “You setting up theater seats for my performance?” he called out.  

“Something like that,” she grinned.  “Everyone says that opening night is the best.”

He scoffed, ignoring her as he filled up the mower with fuel.  “All right,” he said to himself, “let’s do this thing.”  Once again, he grabbed onto the handle of the ripcord and pulled.  

Still nothing.

He studied the machine, puzzled, and then suddenly figured out his error. Grabbing onto a second bar that was attached to the handle, he pulled it flush with the upper handle, watching a cord that led into the engine compartment tighten up with the movement.   _Ah_ , he thought.   He held onto both bars with one hand, and yanked hard on the ripcord with the other.  

The mower roared to life, and he pumped his fist in the air.  

“Yes!  Victory!” he shouted out, already past the point of embarrassment.  

He would probably be more ashamed if Maks and Meryl had witnessed that whole thing, but they were still on their way.  They were staying together in Canton at Meryl’s condo, so he guessed it would be another twenty minutes before they arrived.  Maybe thirty if they had to stop at the store -- he wasn’t sure what Tanith had asked them to bring along, if anything.  With any luck, he could be done with the yard by then.  There was only a small strip of grass in the backyard.  The front was a little bigger and sloped down in the front, but overall, the entire lot was probably less than an eighth of an acre, he guessed.  He glanced over in Tanith’s direction.  She was sitting on one of the chairs, her feet propped up on the white railing of the front porch.  

He shrugged at her, and she yelled back to him:  “What?”

Charlie gestured in a circle at the yard.   “Where do I start?” he shouted back.

Tanith squinted at him, trying to understand, then she nodded, figuring it out.  She pointed at the back.  “Do that first!” she called out.  “That’ll be quick!”  

He opened the gate to the backyard and proceeded to start in on the small strip of grass that ran between their yard and their neighbor’s yards.  Most of the backyard was faded bark and a few stray weeds.  The last homeowner had started up an ambitious backyard garden but never quite finished, and Tanith had spent a good part of yesterday weeding out the overgrown backyard.  She insisted that mowing was going to be _his_ job.

It went quickly enough.  It was about as easy as he’d expected, so he moved around to the front again, shutting the mower off when he heard a car door shut and a jumble of greetings.  Parking the mower back in front of the garage, he came up to the door to see Meryl, carrying what looked like a massive bowl of fruit salad, and Maks with a 12-pack of Stella.  

“Hey!” he said, greeting Meryl with a hug and a polite kiss on the cheek, and Maks with the grab-and-hug.  It was the first time they’d all seen each other since they’d gotten back from their ice shows in Japan at the end of last month.  

Meryl had wanted the four of them to get together before school started up again in another week and a half.  Maks was going back to L.A. at that point, and Charlie and Meryl, well, they would be busy with classes.  They had mutually agreed they would both sign up for a full schedule that semester in order to catch up on things and take a temporary break from full-time skating.  They still had a few exhibition shows scheduled for that fall, but Charlie was looking forward to moving forward with his school career, and he felt like Meryl did as well.  

Meryl was looking well -- she had retained her tan from Dancing With the Stars, although Charlie wasn’t sure if she was still spray-tanning or if that was actual sun exposure.  She wouldn’t fess up to anything while they were in Japan, only admitting that Maks liked it that way.  Charlie wasn’t sure _he_ was as keen on it; her porcelain white skin contrasting against her dark hair was one of the features that made her so beautiful.  Still, she looked great in the sundress she had on, a sheer, white chiffon number with lacy straps and edging.  In the light, he could make out the outline of her legs under the dress --

Charlie heard Maks cough, and he looked up guiltily to see Maks offering him a beer.  Charlie accepted it gratefully, feeling the heat rush up to his cheeks.  He quickly took a drink of the beer to cover up his chagrin.  He nodded at Maks, noticing that Maks had coordinated with Meryl, in a white linen shirt, long skinny cotton shorts and blue Sperry Top-Sider loafers without socks.  

“Nice shoes,” he said to Maks.  Tanith had wanted to buy him a pair of those since they’d come back in style, but Charlie wasn’t sure he could pull them off.  Maks, could, though.  He had a talent for playing at the edge of fashion without going too far.  Charlie figured Meryl had finally met her match when it came to clothes.  

“Thanks.  I’m a bit of a shoe whore.”  Maks winked, tipping back the beer and taking a long slug.

Meryl was always trying to convince Charlie to go shopping with her when they were in other cities for competitions, but that was the last thing Charlie _ever_ wanted to do.  He had only agreed to do it once, when no one else was available; she’d practically been in tears, begging him.  Three hours and two armfuls later, he vowed _never again_.  Maks didn’t seem to mind at all, though.  Meryl and Maks used to go out on shopping trips all the time when Meryl was in L.A., especially after the show ended and they had to do a final press tour.  Charlie remembered Meryl had to buy another suitcase to bring home all the new clothes she’d bought while in L.A.

Charlie had come to realize that, despite initial appearances, Meryl and Maks were a great fit together.  Meryl was a lot more spontaneous than people thought.  She needed someone with passion and flair and an abundance of emotion to share.  The only thing Maks lacked was a _lot_ of patience.  Meryl was, at times, very sensitive, and needed to be handled with delicate gloves.  

Charlie had been awful with that when they first met.  He had been a rowdy, bossy eight year old with a partner who couldn’t even stand to look at him.  As a kid, he hadn’t been able to understand what her problem was.  What was there to be afraid of?  He didn’t have cooties.  That was a second grade myth, anyway.  

Eighteen years later, though, he knew exactly what she needed from him when she was feeling troubled.  He knew how to read her face and body language.  He could tell when to give her time alone, and when she just needed a hug so she could get up and start again.  Maks didn’t seem to have that same sense of intuition, but he _did_ seem to have enough care for Meryl to worry about it.  Charlie supposed that, over time, if things worked out between them, Maks would figure out how to read Meryl better.  For now, though, they communicated most of their feelings through whispers and quiet conversations with each other.  If Charlie was being honest, it made him a little jealous, watching his skating partner get so close to someone else.   

Even when she’d been dating Fedor for almost two years, she’d been a lot more reserved with how they acted in public.  That also could have been because Charlie and Meryl were specifically advised by their publicity team to keep their relationships quiet, as they wanted to promote the “chemistry” between the skating partners.  

Charlie, for his part, had felt like a huge weight had fallen off his shoulders when he could finally _talk freely_ about Tanith, and post pictures of her on Instagram and Twitter.  Sure, he had his private Facebook that only his friends saw, and he had been using that for years, but it still had the feeling of living a double life when he couldn’t specifically mention it in interviews unless asked about it directly.  And even then, he had to limit his answers about her to a sentence or two. Now that they were free to do as they pleased, he still found it difficult to be effusive with his emotions in public.  Tanith was often the one reaching for his hand, and rubbing his back as they walked down the street.  It made him guilty, but it was hard to break habits after so many years.

Meryl, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have any difficulty falling into a PDA-heavy relationship with Maks.  Even before they were dating, they were extremely touchy on camera, and off camera, and just about everywhere else.  Charlie had to control his knee-jerk reaction to be annoyed when it happened, because it really wasn’t his business.   Charlie had been with Tanith for almost five years, now, so there nothing he could say that wouldn’t make him look like an asshole.

Even now, Meryl had her arm around Maks’ waist as she chatted with Tanith.  Charlie scratched his head unconsciously, trying to distract himself from looking at Meryl.   

“So,” he said to Maks, plastering a smile on his face.   _Look friendly_ , he reminded himself.   _Don’t pay attention to Meryl._  “How are you enjoying your time in Michigan?”

“Honestly, it’s been really great,” Maks replied, nodding.  “The weather up here is a little cooler than in L.A., and Meryl and I got to spend the last weekend at her parents’ lake house, so that was -- really nice.”  

Charlie didn’t miss the pause in his voice, and that told him everything he needed to know.  He forced himself to keep his expression neutral.  “Yeah, it’s very -- private there,” he smiled, knowing he was pushing it, but he couldn’t help himself.

Maks’ smile grew large then, and he licked his lip.  He chuckled, his eyes flicking down to Meryl, who was now rubbing his stomach with her other hand.  

 _My God,_ Charlie thought. _Do they ever stop touching each other?  They might as well have sex in public and get it over with already.  Jesus._

“It was good,” Maks finally said.  He guided Meryl toward a chair then, leaning himself up against the porch railing.  “We did some fishing on the boat, and I taught Meryl how to bait the hook so the worm wouldn’t fall off.”

“Are you serious?” Charlie gaped.  “I’ve been trying to teach her that for years!  She doesn’t get the concept of hooking it _twice_ so it stays on.  It’s not that hard!”

Maks laughed heartily.  “I think she needed to get over actually handling the worms, and once she did, she took to baiting like a pro.”

“Hah,” Charlie grinned.  “I’d like to know how you did _that_.”

“You’d be surprised what a couple nightcrawlers down a girl’s shirt will do for her fear of slimy things.”

Charlie burst out into loud laughter.  “Oh … my _God_ , she probably wanted to kill you!”

“I ended up over the side of the boat, yeah,” Maks admitted.  “But it was worth it, because -- results.”  

Charlie nodded with a snort.  He held out his hand.  “I give you credit, sir, for putting worms down Meryl’s shirt and managing to survive.”  They shook hands jokingly, and Maks finished his beer, offering Charlie another.  

Charlie shook his head, nodding at the mower in front of the garage.  “I promised Tanith I’d finish mowing the lawn before you guys got here -- except that you got here sooner than I expected, so now I have to do this really quick, if you don’t mind.”

Maks eyed the grass, which was easily over four inches and smirked.  “I never would have pinned you for a procrastinator, Charlie,” Maks said.  

“Only when it’s something I’m not good at,” Charlie responded, smiling.  “This is my first real house, so I didn’t have to do this before.”

“Even when you were younger?” Maks asked incredulously.

Charlie shrugged, not really wanting to get into it, and thankfully Maks didn’t push the issue.  Charlie was sure Maks knew about his family’s relative wealth -- after all, Maks had been over to Charlie’s parents’ for dinner back in March.  Thinking about that dinner made him miss Sharna.  She had been so much fun to work with on the show.  Charlie had asked her and Paul to come visit, but that was right after the _Dancing With the Stars_ ended, and they hadn’t discussed anything since then.  He knew Sharna was on a live tour right now and would be through the end of the summer.  Maks had appeared in a few dates as well, but was not as involved as Sharna was.  He said he preferred to take some time off to spend with Meryl before the fall.  

“I always used to make my brother do it,” Maks mused, breaking Charlie out of his thoughts.  “I would do a really bad job mowing, like, all crooked lines, and stuff, and then Val would get pissed off and insist on doing it himself.”

Charlie barked in amusement.  “Maybe I should keep that in mind.”  

He glanced over to where Tanith had been standing, but apparently, she’d gone inside with Meryl, probably to find DJ, he assumed.  They wanted to keep the dog inside while he was finishing up the lawn.  

“I doubt Tanith would let me get away with that,” Charlie admitted.  He eyed the mower, sighing.  “I’d better get this over with.  I hope you don’t mind.  Tanith wanted us to play cornhole later.  She always teams with with Meryl and beats my butt.”

“Cornhole?” Maks echoed, his jaw practically unhinged.  “If this was anyone but you, I’d think you were suggesting something really wrong right now.”  

Charlie burst out laughing again.  “Oh -- no, no -- it’s, you know, that game with the wood ramps, and you stand on either side and throw bean bags, and try to get it in the hole?  You know … _cornhole_?”  

Maks squinted, trying to picture it.  “I don’t know, I’m starting to think you guys didn’t invite us over here for just a picnic,” he joked.

“Ha, ha,” Charlie said. “Listen, you’re gonna be on my team, so we’ll practice for a few after I finish this.”  He gestured to a chair for Maks to sit on and left him to get started on the lawn.  

 

===

 

“So I bet Charlie’s glad to be back with DJ again,” Meryl smiled as they stepped back out onto the porch.  She had the dog in her lap, a leash attached to DJ’s collar so he wouldn’t run out into the lawn while Charlie was working.  She nuzzled her nose against the dogs’ fuzzy head.  

Tanith clucked her tongue.  “You wouldn’t believe.  He insisted on putting DJ _between_ us in bed for the first week, claiming that she’d been traumatized by how long we were gone.”

Meryl started laughing, imaging the furry dog nestled between the two of them.  “Charlie was the large spoon, I’m guessing?”

Tanith laughed again, sipping on her drink.  “Only with DJ,” she smirked.  “I’ve never met anyone who is so obsessed with their dog.”

Meryl shook her head, glancing out into the yard.  Charlie had stopped mid-row, wiping his forehead with his arm.  His shirt was covered in sweat.   “I dunno,” she said, slightly distracted.  “DJ’s like a kid to him, you know?  He can’t help himself.”

“Yeah,” Tanith said.  “Tell me about it.  I finally kicked the dog out after a week of being scratched and poked in the middle of the night.  She has her own little dog bed at the end of ours, so it’s not like she’s _that_ far away.”

“Hey, you know they say a dog is man’s best friend,” Maks put in.  “So, you know, you have to respect that.”  

“Nah -- we know,” Meryl said, running her hand down Maks’ arm.  “We’re just making fun of how co-dependent Charlie and his dog are.”  As it was, DJ was whining to leave Meryl’s arms, so Meryl let her down and the dog took off towards Charlie, stopping short when Meryl kicked the button on the leash.  “Not so fast, girl,” she called out.  “You have to wait till Daddy’s done.”

Tanith shook her head.  “He really does think of that dog as a child,” she explained to Maks.  “I think if he could have DJ as his skating partner, he would have.”

Meryl pretended to make a hurt face, but grinned a second later.  “I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right.”  She glanced over at Charlie again, who had now removed his shirt and slung it over the fence that divided the front and back yard.  

 _Wow_ , she thought.  She hadn’t seen him without a shirt since they’d ended _Dancing With the Stars_ , and the sight of it still took her by surprise.  She knew he was in great shape after all their training and the physical demand of the sport, but seeing the muscles in his back flex as he moved …  it did something to her that she didn’t expect.  

Maks was about as rock solid as a guy could be.  When they were off the show, he spent about two hours a day in the gym, which Meryl joined him on, if only to try and keep up.  She liked the muscle tone she’d developed in the last year or so, and wanted to retain it.  Plus, it was just good for them to stay in a daily workout routine, especially since she hadn’t completed retired from skating yet.  

She supposed Charlie had been doing the same, though she didn’t know for sure, outside of their skating training.   Tanith must have caught her looking at him, because she snorted.  “He sweats more than anyone else I know,” she commented.  

Meryl giggled, hoping the heat that had risen to her cheeks wasn’t visible.  “Tell me about it,” she said.  “I have to touch that sweaty back all the time when we skate.”

“What about mine?” Maks asked with a pretend pout.  

“You sweat, too, but mostly at the gym.”  She turned to Tanith.  “I don’t let him touch me until after he’s taken a shower.”  

Tanith nodded towards Charlie.  “Yeah, he’s not touching _anything_ until he cleans up.”  She made a face.  “Jeez.  What a show-off.  Before he was on _Dancing With the Stars_ , he _never_ would have taken his shirt off, outside the beach.  And even then, I used to have to tell him to take it off.”

Meryl giggled again.  “I see you’re still getting him to wax,” she said, hoping that wasn’t too inappropriate.  She reminded herself to slow down on the drinks.  She’d already almost finished off a vodka lemonade that Tanith had given her.  She wasn’t a big drinker and tended to cry sometimes when she was drunk, so avoiding that situation would be preferable, she thought.

“Yes, _yes_ , I am,” Tanith said with wide eyes.  “Do you know how _amazing_ it is to not have to deal with a hairy chest anymore?”

“Heh,” Meryl chortled.  She slid her hand onto Mak’s knee.  “Ummm… I could say I know that feeling.”

Maks grinned back at her, leaning over to kiss her gently on the cheek.  “My chest is smooth as a baby’s bottom,” he purred.  

“Wow,” Tanith said, laughing.  

Tanith seemed to be in a particularly good mood, Meryl thought, but that could be the alcohol, too.  She didn’t tend to drink a lot, either.  Usually a glass of wine when they all went out, but that was about it.

She reached across towards Maks.  “Can I feel it?” Tanith leered, and Maks grinned, leaning forward.  His shirt was already open at the chest, and Tanith stroked it lightly.  

“That _is_ smooth!” she said.  “You should give Charlie some pointers.”

“Oh, yeah, we’ll have a little -- what do you call it? -- _manscaping_ pow-wow,” Maks dead-panned.  “That sounds like a blast.”

Both girls started laughing then, Meryl imagining the two boys slathering lotion over each other’s chest while discussing proper waxing methods.  The longer the image sat in her mind, though, the dirtier it seemed. She cleared her throat suddenly, taking a long sip of her drink.

Tanith noticed Meryl was empty then, and offered to fill it up.  “Sure,” Meryl said, turning to Maks.  “You’re driving, hon.”

“Of course, babe,” he responded as Tanith headed into the house.  Charlie had finished up with the one side and was coming across the driveway to the other side.  He paused at the bottom of the driveway, looking up at them.  They waved cheekily at him, and he saluted back.  Meryl watched as he got going, frowning as he started down the second row.

“Charlie!” she called out.  “You’re not straight!”

His lines weren’t parallel, and he had missed a strip of grass.   _Damn it, that was going to make her crazy._  She jumped up, but Maks grabbed her arm.  “Babe,” he said, “you have to let the guy do it himself.  It’s his house, he needs to --”  

“He’s doing it _wrong_ , though,” Meryl frowned, breaking away from him.  She dashed across the lawn, and as soon as Charlie saw her, he stopped the mower.  

“What’s up?” he asked, panting slightly.  She hoped he wasn't having breathing issues.  Sometimes when she’d mow her parents lawn, she found the grass clippings in the air made it hard to breathe, and Charlie dealt with asthma, on top of that.  After a few breaths, though, he seemed fine.  

She pointed at the missed strip of grass behind them.  “You’re not mowing straight.  Look at that!”  

“Huh,” Charlie said.  “I guess it’s hard to see with the sun glare.”  He looked up, shielding his eyes with his hand.  “I’ll just re-do it.”

Meryl stood back with her hands on her hips, watching him.  He ran over the spot he missed, but moved at an angle, so it left a diagonal path on the lawn.  

She waved at him to stop again.  “Oh my God, _noooo_ ,” she moaned.  “What are you doing?”

Behind them, she heard Tanith cracking up and Maks chuckling.  Charlie grinned at her in response.  “I have no idea,” he admitted, sticking his tongue out.  

“What do you mean, you have no idea?” she asked incredulously.

“I’ve never done this before, Meryl!  My parents hired guys to do our lawn stuff.”

“Oh my God -- of _course_ they did,” she said, grinning.  “Well, Charlie White, prepare to be schooled on the _proper_ way to mow a lawn.  My brother and I used to share this chore, and I was always better at it than he was.”

“I can only imagine,” Charlie mumbled, rolling his eyes.  Compared to her brother, Meryl was a perfectionist, unwilling to let something go until it was perfect.  He held his arms up in the air.  “I’m all yours.”

“OK, you’re bigger than me, so come behind me,” Meryl said, pulling the two handles together.  She could feel the heat emanating off him as he stood up behind her.  

“What’s going on over there?” Tanith called out from the porch.

 “I’m teaching your deadbeat boyfriend how to properly mow a lawn!” Meryl shouted back.  “He needs to be useful for something around here!"

Tanith broke into laughter again, but Maks didn't say anything.  She hoped he wasn't going to get weird about it.  

Seriously, if Charlie couldn't learn how to make proper lines while mowing, she didn't have a lot of faith in him as a homeowner.  

“OK, I’m waiting,” Charlie said.  She could feel his breath on her neck.  

“Um, yeah, OK.  So, I’m holding the handles.  Start the mower, nerd.”

He reached across her, his chest pressing up against her side, as he grabbed the pull cord.  She tried to ignore the flip-flop her stomach had just done.  He paused for a moment, and she made a noise.  

“Are you gonna start it?”

He laughed loudly, which startled her slightly.  “Are you ready?” he asked, pulling the cord out in a swift motion as the mower roared back to life, his body jerking against hers with the movement.  

“Awful,” she said under her breath, ignoring the pain that had started to press against her chest.  “OK,” she began, “grab onto the handles, you’re gonna just follow me, like we’re on the ice.”

“Alllll right,” he practically sang into her ear, his arms coming around her as he grabbed the handle next to her hands.  

“Jeez, you are so sweaty,” she complained, rubbing her arm up against his.  “Yuck.”

“You’re the one that wanted to show me how to do this,” he insisted.  “I can’t help it.”

“Fine, fine,” she grumbled.  She spoke up so he could hear the next part.  “OK, so when you’re moving --”  She started walking along, and lifted up her hand, pointing at the the line in front of them made from the last row, “--you have to pay attention to your last row and follow that line with your wheel.”

“You’re pretty good at this for someone with bad eyesight,” he murmured into her ear.  She could feel the vibration of his lips against her earlobe, and a pulse hit her lower abdomen.  All she wanted in that moment was her earlobe to be sucked on.   _Damn it._    _Damn_.   

“Um, I’m, uh -- used to being able to watch the lines, you know,” she stammered out in response.  “On the ice.”

“Ah, yeah,” Charlie affirmed, still leaning over her as they finished off the row.

“Stop trying to hump my girlfriend!” Maks called out, and Meryl glanced up at him to see if he was really upset.  

He was grinning, so she shouted back to him with fake annoyance,  “Would _you_ rather be doing this with him?”

Maks made a face, and waved at them with his hand.  “Carry on!” he called back, tipping back the rest of his beer.

“So,” she explained as they turned the mower around 180 degrees, “it looks better if you do straight rows up and down or side to side rather than a square shape.  When you turn, don’t let it get caught on the turn or you’ll cut the grass too short.”

“You sure know a lot about mowing,” Charlie chuckled, leaning forward again.  

She could feel his bare chest pressing up against her shoulders, his triceps pushing up against her upper arms, and she could swear he was doing it on purpose.  He had never been so easily close with her before.  Was it because they felt more comfortable with each other?  It was true, their last ice show had gone exceptionally well, everyone commenting on how good their “chemistry” looked and how their “real life partners” must be helping them out with that.  She didn’t know about that, but she did know that Charlie White was not generally an affectionate guy unless he had to be, so this was … off-putting.  

Not that she didn’t like it.  

To be honest, she had sort of been _asking_ for it by offering to “teach” him how to mow the lawn.  It didn’t really matter how it all looked; after all, it wasn’t even her yard.  

Maybe a subconscious part of herself just wanted to find a way to be close to him.  They hadn’t skated together for almost two weeks, and she was missing his touch and proximity.    _That must be it_ , she thought to herself.  She was just missing the routine, and so was he.  There was nothing more to it.  

They finished off the next couple rows, and Meryl stopped the mower for a second, letting go of the handle.  Charlie bumped into her as she stopped, then stepped back quickly, apologizing.

“No, it’s OK,” she said,  “I just think you have the idea now -- you need to be more careful and make sure you keep your wheel on the line."  

Charlie nodded, eyeing her peculiarly.  “Are you sure your OCD doesn’t want you to help me finish this?  What if I miss a spot again?”

Meryl giggled nervously, glancing up at Tanith and Maks, who were deep in conversation, DJ milling around on the porch at their feet.  “I don’t, um -- I, uh, think you can figure it out,” she finally said, looking up at him with smiling eyes.  “I don’t want to make Tanith jealous,” she added quickly.

“Ha, yeah,” Charlie chuckled.  He glanced up at the porch for a split second, then grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly.  “Thanks, Mer,” he said quietly, his blue eyes dark and large as they stared at her.  She swore his gaze moved up and down her body for a split second, but it happened so fast, she couldn’t be sure.  

“You’re a big boy,” she said, more loudly, to make it sound like they were just joking around.  “You can finish this up without my help.”  She gestured at her shoulders.  “I think I need to wipe myself down now.”

“Hm,” Charlie responded, licking his lips.  

 _God, did he know what that did to her?_ Her eyes flitted down to his chest again quickly, then back up.  “Looks like you have a full shower ahead of you there, sweatballs.”

“Wow, _sweatballs_?” he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.  “That’s not a nice thing to say, missy!”  With that, he picked her up, swinging her around like he would if he was doing a skating lift, Meryl screaming in protest.  

Maks and Tanith both looked up at that point, Maks muttering, “What … the fuck?”

Charlie carried her across the lawn, Meryl fighting almost all the way, and he dropped her off in Maks’ lap with a bawdy grin.  “Your girlfriend needs a good wipe down, thanks to me, also known as ‘sweatballs,’ apparently.”   He laughed loudly, his head thrown back in amusement.

Meryl punched him on the pectoral.  “Charlie, I am so gross right now!  I was just trying to help you! Why would you do that?”

Charlie winked at Maks.  “That’s what you get for calling me a sweatball, Mer.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some _proper mowing_ to do!”

“What is going on--?” Tanith asked, giggling.  

 _She was drunk now_ , Meryl thought.  Thank goodness.  Only Maks was eyeing Charlie strangely, and then he looked back at Meryl again.  

“You guys are like a couple of twelve year olds,” he finally said, pursing his lips.  

Meryl couldn’t help it, she burst out into giggles herself.  “It’s not my _fault_ ,” she insisted, shifting off of Maks’ lap to stand up.  She pulled him up by the hand.  “C’mon.  Let’s go inside so I can clean myself off.  I need you to wipe down my back and shoulders, I can’t reach them.”

“How did your back and shoulders get all sweaty, again?” Maks asked as they headed inside.

“I told you, Charlie’s a sweatball.  He rubbed his stupid sweat all over me when he picked me up! Idiot.”  She sniffed at her dress.  “Ugh, I smell like him now, too,” she moaned.   

 _Though there were certainly worse things to smell like_.

“All right,” Maks said, leaning down to kiss her on the neck.  “Ugh,” he groaned. “You _are_ sweaty.  I’ll kiss you once you’re cleaned up.”

“OK,” Meryl smiled.  “Make sure you get _all_ of me.  I think we have a couple minutes before Charlie’s going to need the bathroom.”

“Don’t worry, princess.  I’ll make sure,” Maks promised, his voice low and gravelly as they stepped inside to clean up.

===


End file.
